AboitizPower deploys BESS to boost stability

By Lorenz S. Marasigan – March 5, 2021
from Business Mirror

ABOITIZPOWER Corp. is backing the Philippine power grid with battery energy storage systems (BESS) to ensure stability through its ancillary services.

Emmanuel V. Rubio, the company’s president, said his group is deploying battery systems in various areas starting in Davao de Oro.

The system can store energy electrochemically and can be connected to the grid, distribution system, or end-user facilities.

“Our foray into battery technology is a key component of our 10-year growth strategy, which ultimately aims to address the energy trilemma of energy security, energy equity, and environmental sustainability,” he said.

Through its partnership with Wartsila and Aboitiz Construction, AboitizPower has started the installation of its battery system in its Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) facility with a capacity of 49 megawatts (MW) in Davao de Oro.

A first of its kind in the country, the battery storage facility aims to ensure the fast and sustained delivery of energy.

According to Rubio, this is one of the 12 projects with a total capacity of 248 MW for regulating and contingency reserves that AboitizPower is targeting to develop in the next decade.

It will serve as AboitizPower’s model for its future battery investments, as well as hybrid renewable energy projects, he added.

“The battery technology presents a great opportunity for AboitizPower to address concerns on the reliability, affordability, and sustainability of energy supply. By ensuring the stability of our grid, we are responding to the needs of our customers and communities, as well as supporting economic growth,” he explained.

With the system peak demand forecast to reach 53,679 MW by 2040, Rubio believes that battery storage is necessary to ensure the grid’s stability to provide consumers with a reliable supply of electricity.

It will also require ancillary services that will sustain the transmission capacity and energy that are essential in maintaining the power quality, reliability, and security of the grid.

AboitizPower is the largest provider of ancillary services in the country, making it “well-positioned to support its continued growth moving forward.”

Rubio said complementing its foray into the battery market is AboitizPower’s renewable energy (RE) strategy, which outlines the growth of its Cleanergy portfolio, both domestically and internationally.